Southern region of China hit by African Swine Fever

The Chinese Government has confirmed another case of African Swine Fever (ASF), this time hitting the Southern Province.

As reported by industry portal soozhu.com​, earlier this week, the Information Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs revealed that a confirmed case of ASF occurred in Zhenxiong County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province.

This followed a report received by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs that the Yunnan Provincial Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention received samples for diagnosis that proved to test positive for the disease. They came from a farm in Niuchang Town, Zhenxiong County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province, where 545 pigs had died across two sites.

The local government has started emergency response procedures, including setting up a blockade, culling, treatment, disinfection to treat all the sick and culled pigs harmlessly. All pigs and their products are prohibited from being transferred out of the blockade, and pigs are prohibited from being transported.

This marks the 42nd​ case of ASF in China, with the majority of cases occurring in Liaoning. It is also the first time the disease has hit the Yunnan province.